Is it crazy to haul a backpack full of bagels back from vacation?

Question: Is it crazy to buy one dozen genuine NYC bagels while in Manhattan and haul them back to Columbus Ohio in your child's carry-on luggage?

Answer: No. If you have ever tasted a Columbus bagel and a NYC bagel, then you know that there is no comparison.



Here is a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich that I made on a David's whole wheat bagel. Delicious! If you are in the East Village of Manhattan, stop by and try one for yourself. There are located on 1st Avenue near 20th street.

More NYC Food Pictures

While we were in Brooklyn, Ian and I met a friend and her son for brunch. We ate at Buttermilk Channel, at the corner of Court and Huntington Streets. I'm not too familiar with the neighborhoods in Brooklyn, but I think that we were in the Carrol Gardens area. The food was really good. It sounds silly, but well cooked eggs are hard to come by. I find that most places serve their scrambled eggs overcooked and underseasoned. . These were just perfect. I think that they were made with a little bit of cream. The hashbrowns were well seasoned and downright cute. That's right, they were cute. I think that they were baked in a muffin pan. The toast seemed to be a wheat sourdough. It was all served on a bed of salad with oil and vinegar dressing. Yummy!

Here's Ian on the Coney Island boardwalk, enjoying an ice cream cone.

Ian, eating a pretzel as big as his head.

Coney Island

I've been to NYC more times that I can count, dozens of times, but I have never been to Coney Island. So on our most recent visit, Ian and I made the long haul out to the far reaches of Brooklyn to check it out. The subway ride out there is about an hour from the East Village of Manhattan, but it was worth it. Ian had a blast on the kiddie rides and I had fun people watching.



Ian on the carousel horse.

You can pay $3.00 to try and shoot a "freak" with a paint ball gun. When I heard about this attraction, I instantly pictured someone with face tattoos and a lot of piercings who also performs carny tricks. Disappointingly, it was just a regular guy wearing camouflage and a protective vest. He didn't even have a mohawk.

Kiddie rides and a big Ferris wheel!

Thumbs up!

Ian, looking tough!


View from the boardwalk


The boardwalk


The view of the ocean was really pretty from the boardwalk

More NYC Food

Pancakes at a diner in the East Village.



I tried to order a bowl of French Onion Soup at this diner and they were out. I had no backup plan so I fell back on what is usually a sure bet, a turkey reuben. Guess what? This was THE WORST ruben ever! Why? Because it was on toasted white bread and it had NO dressing.

Bagel breakfast sandwich... Yummy! This was at Europan, near Columbus Circle.

This pissed me off. While Ian and I were at Coney Island, I ordered a hot sausage on a role and asked for SAUERKRAUT. The guy served it with onions and peppers. I didn't correct him. He looked like he was working hard and I am sure that it was an honest mistake. I cannot stand green peppers. I loathe them, actually. So I picked them off and proceeded to eat the sausage. It was good. And it was served on a hoagie roll, not a hot dog bun, so that was special. FYI - The cost of this sandwhich, one Coors Light, one pretzel, and one Diet Pepsi was $19.00. Outrageous!




Here is Ian's Coney Island pretzel.

This is my wacky great-aunt. She took Ian and I out to dinner at Adriatic's in the East Village. I love this place. The pizza is great and the dinners are outstanding. She had soft shell crab Francese.

I had chicken Francese with a side of pasta with roasted garlic and olive oil. As Rachel Zoe says, I DIE! (that means that it was good!)

NYC - PIzza

There is nothing quite like authentic NYC pizza. One of my favorites is Frank's Trattoria @ 1st Ave and 21st Street. I make a point of stopping there every time that I am in town.




The pizza at Adriatic's is great too, but not as good as Frank's. They are only a few blocks apart. Adriatic's is 1st Avenue and 18th.



I can't remember the name of this pizza place, but it is a few blocks outside of Times Square and Ian and I have stopped there in the past. It's good, not great.